Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

9 reviews

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I enjoyed this book, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the physical version. There were a lottttt of characters, and it took me a long time to parse everyone apart. I think if I had a better idea of who everyone was, I could have started storing away little details about them to feel more involved in their lives faster. I thought it was written really well though, and I felt like everyone's story had a satisfying conclusion. Love a little witchy gal, too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Suicide, and Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Bullying, Child death, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Rape

Minor: Misogyny, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping

mr_cain's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I only docked .25 of a star because the pacing was so slow in the exposition. I understand she's establishing a whole host of characters and I do appreciate it, but it's a book you have to power through the first part of. 

This book genuinely kept me guessing. I did suspect the real culprit several times, but I waffled often. Hawkins does a great job supplying motive and details for each of the suspects without it feeling like a painfully deliberate red herring. 

Hawkins also makes the characters each their own and her style is distinct for each chapter in a different POV (i.e. Helen, Jules, + Sean's chapters all feel genuine vs. the same style with different names as many POV switching books seem to do). She provides a cast of characters who are complex and feel so real. Not every character is deeply complicated but they all have their own established psyches which I loved. 

I can easily call myself a Paula Hawkins fan after this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Bullying, Body shaming, Infidelity, Rape, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Blood

Minor: Vomit, Eating disorder, and Chronic illness

paronomaniac's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Infidelity, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Fatphobia

angelafeng's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Murder, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Animal death, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Rape, Cursing, Bullying, Body shaming, and Pedophilia

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Eating disorder, Cancer, and Suicide attempt

cindas_books's review

emotional informative mysterious reflective relaxing tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Blood, Alcohol, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

phdpageturner's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Murder, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Blood

Minor: Drug use and Alcoholism

lordofdisorder's review

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, and Violence

Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Dementia, Excrement, and Vomit

rbrockett21's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Having just read the Girl on the Train, I was excited to read Hawkins’s next thriller. However, both as a stand-alone and in comparison to GotT, I felt it was disappointing. After seeing how well she can convey unreliable narration, it seemed like this was written by a less experienced author who was just entering the genre. Honestly, it seemed like this could have been her first work, not GotT. I didn’t feel a deep connection with any of the characters, and the set up left me wondering if there even was a mystery to be solved at all.

I think what got in the way of the potentially good plot was the excessive filler written in from each perspective. There’s leaving clues via different perspectives, and then there’s just spending too much time trying to make something out of nothing.

Though it was a quick read, I wouldn’t say I was madly turning the pages out of suspense. The only time the pace picked up was about 2/3 of the way through, and only briefly. Even in the moments leading up to finding out who the guilty party was, I just wasn’t that invested. And, in my opinion, the answer to whodunnit was very disappointing; it felt like it was supposed to be a twist that just completely missed its mark.

I still intend to read A Slow Burning Fire upon its release to see if it’s on par with GotT, but after Into the Water my excitement has been curbed. Hopefully her next novel will rekindle my appreciation for her writing style.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, Rape, Pedophilia, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Vomit, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content